Torpedo



I Patented June 20, 1939 TORPEDO John Raymond Holran, Chicago, and 'l'ownsend'Lednum, Evanstom Ill.

' 7 Application March 19, 1937, SerlalNo. 131,928.

- 2 Claims. (c1. 102

The present invention relates to blasting torpedoes, and more especially to torpedoes which are intended for underwater blasting, as for example, in wells, either'in water-wells, or oil wells, I and for submarine blasting, such as is used in the removal of under-water obstructions, or for wrecking submerged foundations.

One object of the invention is to provide in such a torpedo, a novel arrangement whereby the ex- 10 plosion of the charge is caused in' a peculiarly eflicient manner when the torpedo is submerged in liquid.

Another object is to provide in such a torpedo,

a-peculiarly eii'ective form' of explosion-initiating device, the operation of which will not be.

affected by surrounding conditions, eitherof moisture or of pressure.

Still another object is to provide a novel form of sealed lead-in assembly for. the water-tight so explosion-initiating container, by means of which wires may be led into the interior of the container in a simple and easy manner, and the assembly securely sealed against ingress of moisture.

as Still another object is to provide a-novei form of wiring arrangement, whereby a plurality oi detonators may be exploded simultaneously.

A further object is to provide a torpedo assembly, which may be easily and quickly loaded with a minimumpf danger to the operator.

, It has been determined that when a detonator' at the top at a column oi explosives in a cylindrical opening, such as a drilled-well hole is exploded, the detonation develops a pressure, and 88 as the propagating wave of detonation 'travel's downwardly, the developed pressure wave precedes the same. Asthe pressure wave precedes the detonation wave, there is a rapid and coincident buildingandacceleration of the pressure -40 wave, and this pressure-retards the influence of the detonation wave within the column of explosives, and lowers the disruptive-force oi the explosion as detonation progresses-toward the bottom of the column. 45 The present invention obviates this detrimental effect of the pressure wave by making useof spaced detonators with explosives located betweenthem. With' such an assembly and with the explosion of both detonators occuring simul- 50 taneously,' the adverse eiiect of the pressure wave is nulliiied, the result of such an arrangement being that the pressure waves are expended in giving. a. greater impulse to the detonation wave at each end of the explosive column.

a It As a iurtherreflnenient the detonators are containers for the explosive charge,

' enclosed in moisture-proof and rigid containers,

insuring explosion ,of the detonation charge in an atmosphere of normal pressure. Normal, at mospheric conditions may be taken as ideal for the creation of the detonation wave, and'the sealed containers provide for maximum develop- 331i? of such waves by explosives in a dry" conon. In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of a preferred embodiment of the invention, a portion of the casing being cut-away to showthe charge. Figure .2 is' a vertical sectional view of the device.' Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the upper of the explosion initiatingfdevicesfillustrating the 4 manner of sealing the same.

Figure '4 is a top plan view of the upper explosion initiating device.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the lower explosion initiating device. Figured is a sectional view on the line 8-5 ofFigureii. .v v s Figure '7 is a perspective view oi. one of the Figure 8 is a sectional view illustrating the manner of loading the'torpedo.

Figureiils a sectional view on the line 9-9 of I Figure 8. v

. Figure 10 is a detail sectional view showing one oithe sealing assemblies for the lead-in wires.

Describing the drawings more particularly, the torpedo is preferably provided with, an outer casing II that isgenerally tubular in form, and which may he of any desirable size, the side be-' 3 Zing determined by the use to "which the device is.

to be put. Preierably the casing II has an open top or mouth I2 and a bottomwall ii! that may advantageously be conical, and which is provided with openings It to provide accessby water 40 or other fluid in which the torpedo is immersed to the interior of the casing. a A bail or strap It may be riveted to the casing ii, as at [6, at the top of the casing, and inserted through openings l'l in'the bottom wall in order that the lower portion l8 oi the bail may underlie and support the bottom wall. The ball i5 extends upwardly to a pointsuiiiciently above the mouth as to not'interiere with the loading of thetorpedo, and is advantageously provided with a member ID, about which a lowering rope 20 may be secured,

The explosives are'arranged in a column within the casing with an explosion initiating device at each end of the column. I

Referring to Figures 3 and 5, the explosion initiating devices comprise cylindrical containers II and 22, respectively. Advantageously these containers are made of sheet metal that is of sumclently heavy gauge -to resist pressure of liquid at the depth at which 'the torpedo is to be used in order that the container will not be deformed sufllciently to alter the atmospheric pressure existing within it, and under which it is loaded. formed in the wall of the container to strengthen it 24 and 25, respectively, located at their upper and lower end, respectively when they are in Reenfordingchannels 23 maybe- The containers 2| and 22 have openmouths proper position in the torpedo assembly. The

side walls are turned inwardly about the mouths to form flat flanges 28, these flanges being provided with a' series of bolt-receiving openings 21,

structure.

Inasmuch as it is desired to completely exclude moisture and to prevent a change of pressure within the containers, and since it is necessary that wires to transmit electrical current for exploding the detonator of the explosives charge .within the container be led into its interior, a

special form of closure is applied to close the mouths of the containers.

Referring to Figure 3, which illustrates the. closure for the upper explosion initiating device, the closure consists of a circular base plate 28 having bolt-openings 29 spaced to register with the openings 24 of the flange.

The plate 28 is provided with four tlii'eaded openings 30 for the reception of threaded nipples in which bolts are positioned to secure the closure 3| that have wire-receiving passages 32 running through them longitudinally, and which are preferably provided with. hollowed out cavities 33 in their upper ends. A hollow thimblefl, having the lower part of its bore threaded at 35, is threaded upon each of the nipples. The bore of these thimbles extends to a point above the end oithe nipple, when the thimble is screwed down tight against the surface of the plate 28, to form a chamber 35 for the reception of a body of sealing compound 31. The chamber 36 cooperates with the cavity 33 in the end of the nipple, so that as the thimble is screwed down, the sealing compound is forced into the cavity 32 and is compressed tightly therein.

Eachof the thimbles is provided with a. wirereceiving opening 38 through its end, and preferably the walls of the thlmble are curved in wardly towards this opening 38', and the sidesof the cavity 33 curve, in toward the wire-receiving passages' 32, so that as the thl'lnbles are threaded downwardly and compress the sealing compound, it is pressed inwardly toward a wire running through the assembly; I Referring to Figure 5 the lower explosion initiating device is closed by'a plate 38 having two threaded openings 40 that correspond genare associated with the charges. Referringagainf to Figure 3, electrical wires I! are connected with the detonator II, and are led through two oi the nipples 3i and their associated thimbles' 32. The wires 4! extend upwards past the bail II, and advantageously are secured to the cable 2! at intervals by clips l| in orderto restrain the wires, to avoid damage againstfob Jects as the torpedo is lowered. Connectedto thewires 4! within the container 2! is apair of wires 48 that lead from the detonato'r llv of the lower initiator through the nipple and thiln; ble assemblies ll, 42, and upwardly along the inner side of the casing ii to the nipple and thimble membliesof the upper initiators; through which they pass into the container 2!. It will be apparentthat when the wires 'are connected to a suitable electrical nring de-- vice, and suchdevice is operated, thetw'o detonators It will explode simultaneously and the initiating charges 43 will set up simultaneous detonation waves that will travel, towards each other through a column of explosives I loaded into the casing ll between the containers 2| and 22.

The manner of loading the initiating devices is as follows. The container 2! or 21 is arranged with its closed end down, and the explosives 43, which are illustrated as being in usual stick form, are loaded through the mouth. The lead wires 45 are thereafter led through the opening, 31 in respective thimbles, 'and sealing compound. is introduced into the bores of the thimbles, I Now the wires 45 are inserted through the passages." in the nipples, which have been inserted in the openings inthe cover plate II ancl'the thimblesj threaded on the nipples, and screwed down tightlyv against the top of the plate, thereby compressing the seallng compound as heretofore described. The electrical detonator H is thenattachedjto the ends of the wires 45 and the wires [I are inserted through their respective thimblej and nipple assemblies, and attached to the wires Qt. A gasket 50, having been applied tothe; range it and bolts 5| positioned within the openings 21, the cover plate 28 or 30 is arranged with the' bolts' passing through openings, and nuts." are ab:

plied to the bolts and screwed down tightly. The

lower initiator is then prepared in a'si'milar ner, the wires 40 being led through theln ipp le' l0 and thimble assemblies, and attached w nge lag; onator H, after which the plate. so to the flange 28. It may be found as"a n ll'l ,t 'ter q f convenience, that it is moreadvisabl yto assemble the lower initiator and place it'withinzthe'gcaslng l l before attaching ma ures," to the *1 After having assembled the initi'adnide'vicesl' j the lower container 22 with ttached:

'51 are loaded, and lowered is placed within an opentopped' fabricfsackf tj that is provided withlo'ops ,5}; at ,,l ts A cord, as as, in Figure'.8,'.isjth feadedjthrough:thef ioops,' and by means or this o a p ingua -325g lowered to the bottom of. ti j;caslng,.i.i,g.aiter which the cord may be withdr by on ,I. one end. After the lower inltialio ifisi'n' pbslt'ibii, es the main explosive charge of t ats mm the casing rne explosive. charg'je' qhwliijcllj v lve e b aiiil taf ifats ffifii i i se. is loaded may a" plurality o f Jabric'siitik'is s1 ou hed; with 10erssasifi htditz li jlilegim and openings sa s; their Bottom; t'ageous'l'y'lthe sacks 51 g d: mesa e the length'oi' the explosive 'rtrid'ge into the casing I means of the loops 58 in the same manner as the lower initiating device, it being understood that they are loaded into the casing one at a time. When a sufflcient quantity of explosives has been loaded into the casing, the upper initiating device, also contained in a fabric sack, is positioned on top of the explosive charge. Thereafter the wires 45 are led upward, passing the bail and attached to the lowering cable 20.

From the foregoing description, it will be readily appreciated that an extremely efllcient torpedo is provided by this structure. The initiating charges that are within the containers 2| and 22 are maintained at normal atmospheric pressure by means of the closure assembly and are also protected against moisture. The wiring arrangement enables both initiators to be tired simultaneously, with the result that detonating waves-are created simultaneously at each end of the column of explosives, the waves travelling at equal rates toward each other through the explosives and efliciently causing the charge to explode. The structure in spite oi. its advantages does not require a great amount of time to assemble. The method of handling the charge and the initiators results in a minimum hazard from accidental explosion. The method of loading the explosives in fabric sacks permits rapid and safe handling of high charges and the method of loading the charge as a series of units, insures a uniform and maximum density 01' explosives within the casing. The openings 59 in the bottom walls of the sacks, together with the openings in the bottom of the casing and the open mouth of the casing insure that the entire column is under equal pressure conditions, inasmuch as free entry 01 fluids is provided for. The method of enclosing electrical detonators in a container of high explosives, the entire charge within the container serving as an initiating device, insures a complete explosion of the main charge, and since the initiating charge is under normal conditions of pressure, it is insured that the initiating charge will itself explode with the greatest eiiiciency.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation and many advantages of the herein described'invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages oi the invention.

What we claim is:

1. In a torpedo having a tubular casing, a column of flexible fabric receptacles in superposed relation in the casing, a plurality of vertically disposed cartridges of explosive in each of the receptacles, a fluid-proof and pressure-resistant metal container 01' substantially the same cross sectional dimensions as the receptacles positioned at each end 0! the column 0! receptacles and enclosing the said column between them, a plurality of explosive cartridges within each of the metal containers, a detonating device within each of the containers, and means for simultaneously discharging the detonating device.

2. An explosion initiating system for a torpedo having a vertical tubular casing and a column of explosive material within the casing, the said system comprising an electrical firing device,a fluidtight container positioned within the casing and overlying the top of the explosive column, a charge of explosive and an electrical detonator enclosed by the container, 9. pair of wires connecting the detonator with the firing device, a second fluid-tight container positioned within the casing and underlying the bottom of the column of explosive. a charge of explosive and an electric detonator enclosed by the second container, and a second pair of wires connected to the detonator within the second container and the wires of the said second pair being, within the first container, respectively connected to the wires of the first pair.

JOHN RAYMOND HOLRAN. EDMUND TOWNSEND LEDNUM. 

